Firstly, thank you for the kind feedback on various posts about your enjoying the daily updates. I wasn’t sure whether to do them {out life isn’t exactly riveting!}, so the feedback is nice!
Today was a tough, tough, tough day. I mentioned my son had a new activity to help built his upper body strength and gross motor skills, and while he was so excited {he loves the gym aspect} it was as if he woke up in sabotage mode. Everything from getting ready to eating was a struggle. One of the specialist pediatricians who works with him told me that this is typical for children with his special needs, while more “typical” children may sail through to get everything done so they can go to something they enjoy {tobogganing, a movie etc.} children like my son will consciously or sub-consciously try to get in trouble so that the good thing is taken away from them. I remembered this today and slightly changed my response. But it was hard. Made harder still was this am I had to work. You know, motherhood has taught me many things but one of the biggest is that as long as you are safe and capable, what children most need is their family. Nothing replaces that. The {safe} family is the anchor from which they can explore the world with the support, guidance and encouragement they need. And this am, just as my son needed me most, I had to do and be somewhere else. Hard! {I’m very aware that what perhaps makes this more pronounced is that my children have had 10 & 14 homes, they emotionally have a higher level of need and are more anxious because of that. Also, they’ve missed out on having a family for 8 and 7 years…we have so much catching up to do.} Onto better things…
After the physical activity session, we had lunch {I worked am only} and finally, finally around 2pm everyone settled down and our breathing was once again in synch {I have actually noticed when my daughter is anxious/stressed she does not breath properly for hours. I’m hoping if we eventually take a family yoga class that we can work on that…}. And we spent the next hour snuggled up reading and just enjoying one another – something that was missing this morning! On the back of reading their recent OT reports, we played some games to help speed up their processing of information {both have a processing disorder and have significant lags in their sensory skills because of the extreme neglect they experienced in their birth family}. The games were a lot of fun and I’m pleased to be adding them into our daily routine!
And this evening, despite a challenging day, we made it to my book club. It was one of my goals for the week/month/year, so it felt good to spend some time with one of my closest friends and be around other adults {though children attend too!}.
Finally, after a bit more work {sigh!} I put Downton Abbey on {season 3 started this evening} and breathed, in real hope that tomorrow is a better day.
What I resisted today? A tea en route back from the book club {it is an hour away}. The pesky cough returns every night.
And now, Downton calls…! And tomorrow, home educating…!
When I lived in Asia I learnt this for relief from coughs, arthritis, and just about everything.
Mix 2 tablespoons of Unfiltered Organic Apple cider Vinegar with 8 fl oz of warm water, add enough honey until sweet enough to drink.
Sip every 2 hours for 1st day
3 x daily for next week,
2 x daily until symptoms are relieved.
For strong immunity & continued better health 1 x daily.
Oldest medicine in the world………
Yoga is just simply wonderful for families. No classes in my area, but going to look for an instructor to do a family group session for my brood. 5 moves in 4 years and I have one DD who needs lots of family love, patience, structure and lessons in calming the mind. Your post resonated with me particularly today as I know I need to address this issue.
I look forward to your wise words daily, the 31 days of nothing are a great start to 2013.
Blessings x
sorry you had such a tough day – i can totally get what you are saying – my daughter has ADD and some days are such a fight to get even the simplest things done if her mood is not good. It is very draining , especially when you know that they really want to do something but can’t get there emotionally. I hope that today is a better day , and am looking forward to hearing how you arer going to manage to home educate and work – amazing x
I also am now convinced my daughter could have ADD, and now need to start the process of investigation. It’s a daunting prospect. My daughter is 11 yrs old and it seems to be getting worse with the onset of puberty. Did your daughters school or you raise the initial concern? Thanks for sharing. Xxx
Hi , my daughter was diagnosed aged 12 , although I had been convinced that there was an issue from the time she was 5. School were unsupportive and their response ranged from her being lazy , to a dolly daydream or because she hadnt had enough attention from me ( her brother had cancer when she was 2 ). She seemed to be getting worse ( def puberty related) and I asked my sons psychologist for helps on managing her anger. They assessed her and decided she had severe add and she began medication in sept and started a different school- the results have been amazing – very quickly we noticed a big improvement in concentration and reduction in frustration. It is like having my beautiful daughter back again. She still struggles and as I posted before she can have bad days still. Hope that helps x
I can second that. My daughter was seen as lazy, a daydreamer and not able and yet evaluations have shown: ADD (in her case trauma related), a language and sensory processing disorder and severe find motor skill deficite. She couldn’t write neatly because she didn’t have the motor skills, or the sensory input to be able to do it. She couldn’t process instructions from the front of the room, she was picking up 3 words out of 10. I will write more in a post but I will say the teacher/school makes all the difference…! And my daughter does take 1 medication now to support her. That with some more day to day support to give her life skills and reduction in her trauma (unique to her because of her background) has made a huge difference. It is suspected her IQ is actually very very high. She became a chess master after a couple of sessions. She is smart, smart, smart, but needed support with where their were gaps. Getting the ADD under control has allowed her to make huge gains.
Please keep doing your regular updates! It is so lovely to hear from you. And I am excited about your home educating plans. Are you working from home now 100%? (<– nosy, feel free not to answer) I am looking to move to working form home due to some big-ass health issues.
I emailed you a couple of times, not sure if they made it to you or not (new email address?) or if you are just busy and not replying to as much any more. No worries either way, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you!
Hope today is a calm one for you! xxx
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I have a similar cough syrup recipe to the one above and hopefully you may have it all in your pantry. I give this to my 2.5 year old when he gets one as well as not many cough syrups are recommended for kids especially with medical conditions.
1 cup of apple Juice
1 cup of water
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons of honey
handful of thyme
simmer in saucepan for 5-10 mins you will start to smell when its done. Drink it hot or cool it down but try and drink a cup in a sitting. It is very tasty so very easy to drink especially in cold weather.
I have very much been enjoying reading your nothing month.
I’ll throw my two cents in on a cough remedy – Vicks Vapor rub on the feet cover with socks, particularly at night or while sleeping. Don’t know why it works but it seems to work wonders for my children. Here’s a link to a homemade version, though I have never tried it (but I have made other items from this site with great results) http://adelightfulhome.com/kiss-vapo-rub-goodbye-%E2%80%93-diy-chest-rub/.
Also, I just discovered Downton Abbey. I have heard many friends talking about it and decided to check it out. I found the first season streaming on Netflix and watched the first two episodes last night! I am so excited to watch it…it was so good. Of course, I don’t know what I will do when I am done with Season 1.
Sorry you had a rough day but thankfully tomorrow is a new day!
Having worked for years with developmentally delayed adults, I totally hear you on the self-sabotage issue. It is incredibly frustrating. My first urge is to respond by dumping all the frustration on the malingerer, which would be disastrous in every way, as you know. It strains every nerve sometimes to respond appropriately. The main thing to focus on is that he *did* get to his activity, which will hopefully make it easier next time. You are so right that he needs reassurance, more than sometimes seems possible to give. But you are teaching them about the love of God, which never fails, and your love will help them to contact that higher love that can always see them (and you) through.
On a lighter note, we don’t have a TV anymore, so are looking forward to watching Downton Abbey on the internet tonight. We also saw the Christmas special of Call the Midwife a few days ago, and cried buckets, but enjoyed it thoroughly!
Blessings.
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After a morning like that a cup of tea would have been a near necessity for me by evening. Hope you have a better day tomorrow.
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